The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ - by David J Downs & Benjamin J Lappenga (Hardcover)

About the Book

Downs and Lappenga effectively reframe any future consideration of the pistis Christou construction for both New Testament scholars and theologians by showing that the story of Jesus in the letters of Paul extends to the faithfulness of the exalted Christ Jesus, who will remain faithful to those justified through union with Christ.

Book Synopsis

The pistis Christou construction in Paul's letters has ignited heated debates among Pauline scholars and theologians. On the one side, some claim that the phrase denotes human faith placed in Christ. Others, however, contend that pistis Christou in Paul alludes to the faithfulness of Christ himself, with Christ's pistis chiefly demonstrated in his willingness to suffer and die upon the cross. Yet both sides of this debate overlook Paul's emphasis on the faithfulness and continuing work of the risen and exalted Christ.

In The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ, David J. Downs and Benjamin J. Lappenga focus upon the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus in their discussion of pistis Christou. They claim that when Paul writes of Christ's pistis, he refers to the faithfulness of the risen and exalted Christ. Downs and Lappenga carefully survey Paul's use of pistis in Philippians, the Corinthian letters, Galatians, Romans, and Ephesians, revealing how pistis epitomizes the risen Christ's continuing faithfulness toward all those who participate in him by pistis. Downs and Lappenga effectively reframe any future consideration of the pistis Christou construction for both New Testament scholars and theologians by showing that the story of Jesus in the letters of Paul extends to the faithfulness of the exalted Christ Jesus, who will remain faithful to those justified through union with Christ.

Review Quotes

Pauline scholars and students of the Bible will profit from this book's engagement with the biblical texts as well as its innovative and helpful methodological frameworks.

--Oscar E. Jiménez Quintana "Religious Studies Review"

The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ is a focused, researched, and compelling study that offers a fresh approach to a topic of ongoing New Testament debate, addressing it with enough clarity and substance to be a significant player in the ensuing discussion.

--Troy M. Troftgruben "Review of Biblical Literature"

This excellent book could not have arrived at a better time. Its publication in July 2020 coincided with waves of Confederate monument 'disruption' across the nation in the wake of George Floyd's death... Newson's book is its own form of disruption--of both Confederate monuments and the scholarly literature about them. Newson highlights the monuments' oft-obscured theological dimensions, revealing the necessity of their theological disruption.

--Karen V. Guth "Perspectives in Religious Studies"

The argument of this book provides a convincing response to a challenge posed by James D. G. Dunn: Why, outside of the disputed pistis Christou phrases, does one not find emphasis on the faithfulness of Christ in Paul's letters (pp. 6, 10)? Downs and Lappenga persuasively demonstrate that the pistis of the risen Christ consists in his enabling, through the Spirit, those who share in his pistis to become people 'of faith and faithfulness, trust and trustworthiness' (p. 161). By showing that, for Paul, the faithfulness of the risen Christ empowers faithful living, Downs and Lappenga open the door to further research exploring the implications of Paul's narrative soteriology for his ethics.

--Julien Smith "The Catholic Biblical Quarterly"

About the Author

David J. Downs is a Fellow of Keble College and Clarendon-Laing Associate Professor in New Testament Studies at the University of Oxford.

Benjamin J. Lappenga holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Fuller Theological Seminary.